132 
EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN. 
should be kept in it and then do not attempt to keep more than the 
space will allow. . 
The ability to grow strong, vigorous pullets during the summer is 
considered the most important factor in winter egg production Some 
may not agree with this, and it is surprising the large amount of litera¬ 
ture that has been written about winter housing and feeding, all of 
which is very essential, while but little has been written about the 
summer and early fall management of pullets. Good houses are costly 
and from that standpoint should be given much attention, but the great 
advantage of this system of summer management is that it costs almost 
nothing—a little extra time and trouble to feed. 
If a convenient house for summer is not already available, one may 
be constructed very cheaply. A summer house to accommodate thirty 
pullets should be 8x10 feet, with a G-foot front elevation and 4 leet m 
the rear If care is taken to clean this house and keep it so, one may 
handle as many as forty pullets in it. If the desire is to keep more 
than forty pullets in a house it should be constructed large enough to 
give each one at least two square feet. Cheap lumber and building 
paper will make a serviceable roof; the frame may be cut in the a\oo 
lot if necessarv, otherwise use 2x4 inch scantling. Cover the sides with 
wire netting and then with a few cents for cloth or burlap cover the 
sides and a good summer house is complete. The south side should be 
left so that the cloth or burlap can be rolled up except when storms 
come from that direction. Such a house should be placed on two good 
oak runners with clevises attached so that it can be drawn to any part 
of the farm. A movable floor should be placed in the house and cov¬ 
ered with straw or chaff. This litter should be removed frequently m 
order to keep the house clean and sanitary. When the pullets are four 
months old, roosts may be placed inside and they will soon learn to 
If birds are to be shown at the fall or winter fairs one will find the 
I nil lets that have been raised out in the open where they ranged at 
will are much stronger, with brighter and more lustrous feathers than 
those chicks raised in confinement. One of these free range pullets 
when confined to coops will need a little more training, but will endure 
a long journey and the strain of the show room much better than the 
one that has been raised in close confinement on soil that has been 
poisoned bv vears of accumulated dromiimrs. 
There mav be some disadvantages in the free range system for pullets, 
such as the requirement of extra time and trouble which have already 
been discussed. There remains, however, the question of hawks, crows, 
skunks and other vermin, which may be troublesome m some localities. 
If' care is exercised to shut the doors at night and have the opening 
two feet from the ground there should be no more trouble vith am 
njo-ht prowling animals than is likely to occur in a small yard close 
to/the house. Hawks probably are the most troublesome in the day 
time and should be shot whenever they visit the chicken yard. Grows 
seldom trouble chickens large enough to put out on the range. W here 
hawks are quite troublesome a corn field makes an excellent place 1o 
keep the pullets as the chicks will usually hide away so that the hawks 
cannot see them. Those who have tried the free range say that they 
